Poland's government will work on improving social and financial security of Polish families in 2014, PM Donald Tusk said Friday at a press conference on government's priorities for 2014, adding that he is confident that state will be increasingly able to afford it.

The PM said that his government will target reducing unemployment rate to below 13% at end-2014, Prime Ministers said during a press conference on government's priorities for 2014.

Poland's unemployment was around 13.4% at the end of 2013 according to estimates of the Labor Ministry, below the budgeted 13.8%.

Tusk also said that the government will start slowly eliminating short-term job contracts, often called "junk" contracts this year. Junk contracts require smaller contributions toward social security, pensions and taxes than regular contracts. The PM pledged to increase social security fees on these contracts.

"In 2014 we will start works on ending the infamous era of junk job contracts," Tusk said. "We will put forward solutions that will be the first steps. We will be cautious . . . as we are aware that imposing social security premiums on certain types of income might have a negative effect on the labor market."

In the first step, Poland will change the rules on commission contracts, imposing social security premiums at least matching the level of premiums on minimum wage contracts, Tusk said.

Furthermore, Poland will impose social security premiums on remuneration for supervisory board members, the PM also said.
Poland will also look for "legal, procedural and control" solutions to make companies applying regular employment contracts more competitive in public procurements, the PM declared.

"We don't want companies employing people on regular contracts to lose because they are less competitive," he said.

Tusk also said that the government plans to raise minimum wage in 2014 and will tackle issue of minimum hourly rate.

"We intend to increase minimal wage in 2014, but rather consequently, without any bonus," Tusk said.

Additionally, "this year we will raise the problem of potential [introduction of] a minimal hourly pay," the PM added.

Starting in January 2014 monthly minimum wage has been increased by PLN 80 to PLN 1,680 gross.